Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: Fishman, an original owner of the Bucks and a man who helped bring professional basketball back to Milwaukee in the late 1960s, died Friday at the age of 84. With the backing of Wesley Pavalon, Fishman raised $2 million and their group, Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, was awarded an expansion franchise by the National Basketball Association on Jan. 22, 1968. Fishman once recalled how he bought a copy of every New York and out-of-town newspaper he could find the day after the franchise was awarded to look for “Milwaukee” in the headlines. Pavalon became the team’s chairman of the board with Fishman the vice chairman of the board. The Bucks drafted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) in 1969, and with Abdul-Jabbar teaming with Oscar Robertson, the Bucks won the 1971 NBA championship. Fishman’s smile was never more evident than after the Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets in the championship series.
